I agree with the boat lanes, No Wake Zones and anywhere there is a swim-area or boat launch, but to tell someone that this or that area should be left for this type of angler and not all of them, is discriminating to those who you wish to stay out.

As long as one has a legal license, all their information marked on their jug lines and not over the maximum number of hooks on the device or all total, who has the right to tell another, 'that is too many juglines'?

Is the same true for limblines? Is 100 limblines with 1 hook on each down along a river too many even though all of them are legal? Same goes for trotlines...10 lines with 10 hooks each or 5 trotlines with 20 hooks each? It makes no difference what method you choose to fish with as long as it is legal and properly marked, not in a boat lane or no wake zone, the water belongs to all that use it, not one type of angler over another.

Why don't we all just try to 'buy' our own little piece of public water so that no one infringes on another's water space with what legal method or legal number of hooks are allowed.

my opinion is people that set limblines should be forced to swim or boat or innertube through an area infested with the things before they are allowed to set them. limblines can really hurt people that cannot see them. limblines are no better than hanging hooks from trees in a park.

Some people are just plain stupid.....

There are a few marina's that have jugs marking metal, and some other marinas that need to add some jugs marking metal, like one over at Twakoni, any guesses?

And that's the difference from Texas and Wisconsin...any fishing method can hurt someone, just like cutting your foot on broken glass by swimmers, running a boat into a wasp nest or being thrown from a inner tube...all can have their accidents.

i have 5 deeper water jugs and 12 shallow jugs i use in shallower backwater flats no more than two hooks on each

as far as limblines and trotlines go i think they should be kept out of popular "swim holes", however, if they are unmarked or past their 30 day from set out date they become my property or trash (just my part to keep myself and others from getting hung up on someone elses negligence.)but some of the best trips i've had have been on limblines

You may not know this, but if you or anyone else, other than a Game Warden, is in possession of an illegally set or unmarked, outdated trotline or jugline, and the GW sees you grab it, YOU will be in possession of it and receive the citation. Only a Game Warden may confiscate illegal set or marked equipment in our public waters and if you doubt me, ask one!

Not all trotlines HAVE TO BE currently dated as long as they are not fishing...no hooks on them make them legal and don't have to be re-dated for the next 30 days.

Good luck on messing with someone else's equipment.

i do this because i always end up swimming trying to find where i keep getting hung up and have to cut an old line to get my hooks back.

if its marked so you know its there you don't fish there and have that problem

and thats exactly right they arent fishing so they are not illegal so fair to move. im not messing with someone elses equipment i'm messing with someone elses lost forgotten ignored what have you trash. more like there litter than equipment.


and have you ever tried to get ahold of a game warden to do something about illegal devices.
i have
not very easy and they do absolutly nothing.

Nething - you really should have a talk with ANY game warden and see just what they have to say about another person's fishing equipment. Just because the line isn't fishing, doesn't give you the right to take it and make it YOURS!! I guarantee it wouldn't happen to mine if it's not fishing and I found you attempting to take MY LINE(S) with MY NAME on them...you would be receiving a citation and headed to civil court. Trust me, a couple fellows found out the hard way 2 years ago!

You're still young and just haven't learned a good lesson yet...you will some day.

i take it you guys that hang those damn things never been tubing or canoing or swiming and run into em at all?? or do you just expect by mystical extra perceptive powers that people should be able to see the tings hanging from limbs over the water and be able to avoid em?? i gre up in texas swimming tubing and canoing in rivers and lakes and been snagged by those things and all i wanted at the time was to tie those limb lines to a stick and beat the owners to a pulp with em. it hurts like freekin hell when you have 7 or 8 treble hooks ripping your arms and legs open becaue some redneck hillbilly strung lines from tree limbs ove the water on 60 pound mono.

how long did it take ya to learn to keep an eye out for limblines? ... sheesh! ... i never have been hooked by a limbline & i grew up right here in texas, playin' in the rivers & lakes ... BUT i think one hook in my arm or leg would have broke me from suckin' eggs ... when i was just a pup i learned that any kinda line around a fishin' hole prolly meant there was a hook attached somewhere

BTW next time ya see wunna them redneck hillbillies out runnin' his lines, kick his hiney & send'im on home

albert i agree with you 100%

One thing, growing up in Texas, float the river on a tube. That is great fun. We learned early to stay away from hanging limbs. On the Little River and the San Gabriel, they had those thing called cottonmouths hanging in them. Those things hurt much more then limb lines. The only time I got a hook in my foot, it was from a spinnerbait some bass fisherman had lost. Anyway, if looking, you see those lines. Plus growing up around the rivers of Texas, you know people fish that way. It's called common sense. Don't mean to offend anybody, but I'm born and raised Texan. I grew up on the stories of the Alamo and our great hero's of this state. General George Patton said " Give me a man from West Point, I'll win a battle, but give me a man from Texas, I'll win the war." I don't go to no Wisconsin fishing and call someone a cheese head. Watch the hillbillie stuff. You will offend someone

Although I jugline often, I realize how frustrating it is to see a lot of jugs in one area. I have never seen more than ten or so in one area on Lake Conroe, but then again, I only fish the northern end.
When I rod and reel fish, it is the trotlines that I have havoc with. Seems like in the stump areas on the northern end, you cannot fish with a rod and reel without getting tangled up with an old trotline. At least the jugs can be seen and you can avoid getting tangled in them.
Now, I know the areas where people do a lot of rod and reel fishing for channel cats and I would not consider setting jugs in these areas. However, most are in shallow water(2-5 ft) so jugging would be a kinda dumb thing to do anyway. Hope it doesn't get so bad that the law has to step in and change things.